Eyes
Disclaimer: Nope, I don't own Kingdom Hearts, otherwise we'd see lots of RikuxSora goodness!
It was not that Riku despised his allies; in fact, most of the Unknowns were almost slightly amicable. Almost slightly amicable meant they talked without trying to kill you, and most meant two out of the six Unknowns in the group. Mizu...couldn't be really being counted as anything other than an Unknown.
But it seemed that fate was kind with Lady Luck today, as the only person around was Kokoro. Not that Immortalis had any living creature habiting its regions anyway. There was something Kokoro knew that drove him insane at times, especially when it came to information he needed. Information like Sora's whereabouts.
"Where's Sora? Why can't you tell me?" He gripped the edge of the concrete building in silent frustration. He heard the wrestling of cloth against hair and suspected that Kokoro must've pulled down his hood. He's heard from the others that Kokoro had resemblances to Sora as well, though smaller and unmistakably blonde. It was part of the reason why Riku was partially glad he was mostly blind.
"I'm sorry," He replied. His voice sounded somewhat like Sora's too. "But I can't. It's too dangerous."
Which was the same thing King Mickey told him when they parted.
"If you go out and search for him, it will be too dangerous. I'm sorry, Riku."Bowing his head down, Riku could only clutch the granite harder. The silence was filled with tension.
Feeling something accustomed to pity, Kokoro decided to give him a small break.
"I'll let you in on a secret," The blonde boy stated. The sound of his voice did not sound good...
"Sora..." He hesitated, "Something happened, and it wiped some of his memories out."
"What?!!" Jerking up, Riku shot his head over to Kokoro's direction. This was the time where Riku abhorred his disability.
He's joking, Riku thought in horror, Just fucking with me. He's joking?!
"He doesn't seem to remember any of his friends," He continued to explain, though a bit quieter, "He doesn't remember a lot of things."
"That's a lie!" The platinum hair boy barked. "It can't be true! Sora would never forget his friends!"
"I'm sorry." The double-wielder stood, leaping off the side of the building and disappearing into the night. Riku felt suddenly drained as he leaned against the side of the wall.
"How unfair. Sora, how are you allowed to forget me? Cruel..."
This was not unlike Maleficent's own trick of deceit. The same guise he promised not to tangle himself in again caught him in it's own web. He could not possibly fall for it again.
Could he?
At least he could make sure of it first without jumping to conclusions. Kokoro was not one to manipulate. And neither were the others.
But that did not hold his attention for long, as the pain in his heart intensified. Maybe this was the reason heartless invaded his dream? Riku darkly laughed, and the rain started to fall again.
"Sora!" He yelled, arching his neck to see the clouded night sky. The raindrops fell around him as one drop fell upon his cheek. "Don't you dare forget anything else! You still have someone to save!" And his voice grew quiet as his body grew slack.
"Because..."
You are my only light...---
"I won't allow you to see Sora!" The blonde cried as he summoned two very familiar objects in his hands. Behind him Sora turned to see what was going on.
"Koro, when did you get here?" He yelped, eyeing his unfriendly acquaintance, Axel, with unease. The castle grounds seemed darker than before.
"That doesn't matter! Go, Sora!"
"Com'on!" Donald screeched, pulling Sora farther away. When they were out of sight, Donald released him.
"Hey! What's the big idea? We gotta help Koro!" The spiky brunette cried, proceeding to go help. Goofy caught his hood just in time to yank him back.
"We need to find the King!" The duck declared, pushing Sora away from the fight. Sora crossed his arms in defiance. His stubbornness kicked in as the two proceeded to drag him along.
"How many people had to die for your stupid king!? I don't want anymore of my friends sacrificed!" His sudden outburst not only surprised the others, but him as well. Where did he come up with that? He felt lost again as he sank to his knees. Was there something he didn't remember?
Donald did not take that remark lightly.
"The King is not stupid! Everything's worth it if we can find him! As much as I hate to say it, King Mickey is the only one who could get things back together again!" He continued to ramble as Sora's mind swam around in a hazy fog.
"Eyyukk, are you okay, Sora?" Goofy asked, placing a giant hand on Sora's shoulder. The key bearer looked at Goofy with a strange expression.
"Goofy," The teen fidgeted. "I don't have any friends other than you guys, do I?"
The oversized dog gave him a knowing smile and patted him on the back. For a moment, Sora suspected that the older one was hiding something from him.
But Goofy was too kind to do that, wasn't he?
It was then that he realized Donald ceased his ramblings and was now also staring at him oddly. Why was everything in bits and pieces lately? Sometimes he'd try to remember what he was doing before he met Donald and Goofy, and the only thing his mind could comprehend was that he couldn't remember.
"What?" He asked feeling annoyed about everything in general. The duck shook his head.
"Let's just go."
Meanwhile, Koro had some problems of his own. Axel's ability to manipulate fire just trapped him in a large ring, which thoroughly blocked his escape. Gritting his teeth, he stood in place, Keyblades in hand.
"You know," Axel, sneered, "There are only four Keyblade Masters, and only one who can wield two at a time. Is there something you're not telling me, Koro?"
"Not anything worth my breath."
Axel's sneer fell, instead placing himself in an attacking position.
"You certainly have enough breath to fight."
The inferno rose along with the adrenaline as the two clashed within the fiery ring. Axel twisted his weapon, using the small blade on the side to catch the Oathkeeper and pull it down. Koro backed up a bit, allowing the two to break stalemate. Raising the Oathkeeper again, he charged with both blades crossed. Axel flipped backwards and threw his weapons like a Frisbee towards his opponent. Koro knew these were not normal boomerangs as they twirled around him. They created another firewall that trapped him in one spot.
"Well, that wasn't nice." He muttered, dismissing the Keyblades for more room. The fire licked around him, singeing the tips of his clothes.
Axel watched from the outside. No, he hadn't really expected this to hold him for long, as Koro had more tricks than that.
So it really didn't surprise him when Koro was nowhere to be found when the firewall died.
"I got what I came for," He grinned, eyeing the dark corner to the right.
"If you want to save your friend, go to Hollow Bastion." Axel warned. With a flash of fire, Axel faded from view.
And Sora stepped out from the shadows.
"We have to help Koro." He stated, curling his hand into a fist. Donald was about to protest, but a small shake of Goofy's head proved otherwise.
There were some things that the King would just have to wait for.
---
If you were to first look at Hollow Bastion, you would imagine that the castle would be a beautiful place to live. You'd have a clear crystal stream and a beautiful view of the sunset every day. The castle floated on air it seemed. It looked like an ideal place of heaven.
But if you took a closer look, you could see the ravenous creatures roaming among the grounds. The crystal clear water hid a secret dungeon maze, and the Sunset cast an ominous effect on the towers. The gate that welcomed you was black and sharp. Gargoyles greeted you instead of angels. And the curious symbol that adorned the castle proved less than welcoming. Certainly, the devil himself created such a place?
The only thing that apparently dared to set foot on Hollow Bastion were the five raincoat clad figures on the balcony.
"Sora is on his way." Axel declared. Mizu bowed his head and grinned.
"Won't this be interesting?"
"The only problem we have is this: What will we do with the Key Bearer once we have the Keyblade in our possession?" Asked Kokoro, crossing his arms.
A small silence was brought up with this as they thought of a solution.
And a wicked smirk came upon Raos' face.
"We kill him."
"No." Riku's forceful voice commanded, inwardly surprising his comrades. Riku had always been a silent one for most of the time. Raos growled.
"And why not?"
Riku panicked for a second, before Mickey spoke.
"It would not be best. Our goal is to balance light out with darkness, is it not? Sora is needed."
"Not that you could kill Sora anyway" Riku muttered. Raos turned to him and snarled.
"Should I go out and prove it to you?"
They glared at each other with such a hatred that even the others hesitated to interrupt. Such was the typical setting for each gathering and this one was no different. It was always silent before the storm, but this one seemed fragile.
"I'm not just a mindless fool anymore. I don't take orders from you and I never will again. So I don't particularly care whether Sora lives or not. Get over it."
Raos and Riku never really liked each other in the first place.
"You're still only a heartless. A cold, unfeeling creature." Riku quietly said. Raos' eyes glowed from under his hood.
"Talk about heartless, "He scoffed. "You made a copy of your dear Sora when the real one discovered what you were."
The words stung and guilt from the past scar seeped out. And Raos knew it.
"You're not Sora."
Those words were all that Raos needed to explode.
"And thank god I'm not! I was called Anti-Sora for a reason, you pathetic moron! I'm not going to take whatever you throw at me, just like he did! I'm his exact opposite-when he feels pain, I feel pleasure! Whatever he hates, I love! And the exact moment when he turned into a heartless," Riku flinched, "I enjoyed it! I felt human! And I'm going to stay this way, so deal with it!"
A heavy silence filled the area as a random Wyvern cried out. The cry shifted their attention to the small specs moving in the distance.
"Show's over boys. Mickey, would you like to greet Sora and his friends? The rest of us shall spread out around the castle." Mizu called, stepping towards the edge of the balcony.
All five disappeared, leaving nothing behind.
---
Next Chapter preview!
"So you really don't remember me?" It was more of a statement than a question. The dark room hid the mysterious boy's face. It was odd; Sora didn't feel any immediate danger like the others.
"Who are you?" He demanded uneasily. Something was wrong with whoever this was. Why was he getting such a familiar feeling? The gap in his mind throbbed and he bent over and stumbled a bit from the pain. The figure stepped forward, kneeling down to eye-level.
Apparently it didn't matter if he could see Sora's face or not.
---
A/N: Another one done! This is so fun to write...and a lot of work! Nyah... Anyway, tell me what you think. Thanks!